11 nov 2004

Members:

Here is the November Newsletter. This is a long and very informative newsletter. Please read it all. Don't forget about our Christmas Party coming up next month. This meeting is important and we have a lot to discuss. Please plan to attend both and have some fun.

Pete Addeo, Webmaster

Missoula Iris Society

http://www.missoulairis.com

DATE & TIME: November Meeting - Saturday, November 6, 2004 at 6:30pm

PLACE: Home of Bob and Alverta Symes, 3029 River Bend Rd, Bonner. Usual potluck dinner. Call 258-6649 for directions

PROGRAM: Brief showing of KPAX TV news coverage of fort work party

BUSINESS: Election of 2005 officers, report by 25th Anniversary Committee for 2005, Fort Gardens report, Confirmation of dates for next years events, selection of auditing committee., confirming time for December Christmas party, review of budget, assign a coordinator to take orders for our 2005 MIS Calendars, membership dues increase.

"FYI" NEWS:

From our VP, Ann Violette: Ann cannot attend the meeting due to a family commitment out of town. She wants to announce: Congratulations to Alverta Symes, who has moved from a Garden Judge to an Active Master Judge.

The 25th Fort Gardens Anniversary celebration: A meeting was held Tuesday, October 26th at Addeo's home to toss around ideas for the celebrations. Those five present who shall now be called the 25th Committee were Jim Sadler, Chair, Billie Gray, Elinor Utech, Gary Clark and Carol Addeo.

Please be thinking about events you would like to see and which events you can help with.

Ideas the committee would like to present to the club for discussion were:

1. Event activities from Spring through Fall, a series of events.

2. The annual show on June 11, 2005 at the mall, with a history board of the fort gardens as part of the event. After show banquet should have some features about the history of the garden.

3. A miniature iris show and judges training at the Fort Gardens, on a Sunday, a date yet to be set. This should be a sanctioned show.

4. A garden tour on June 18, 2005 which will be a fund raising benefit tour for the Fort. A fee will be charged for a self guided tour and will include homes other than just iris society members. Members who work at the tour will not be charged. With this in mind, members may know of nice gardens people might be willing to put on tour. If so, they should notify Billie Gray or Carol Addeo.

5. A fundraiser dinner, something special, including the public with a historical program, perhaps with transparencies of photos or a power point presentation. Could be a catered even at Fort or at a nice restaurant.

6. Write and publish a history booklet, either to be sold or given away. Perhaps sell advertising in it. Include information from some of the original members who started the garden: They are Bob and Billie Gray, Ron Dunn, Pat and Nancy Ryan, Ken and Rose Mary Baier, Donna and Jerry Bowers, Dave and Carol Durnford. Elinor will begin researching our history files to compile information for this.

It's Their Birthday!!....Let's Give 'Em a Cheer!!!

Happy day to Donna Dowell - November 3rd, Pat Ryan - November 14th, Mary Ellen Davis - November 1st and Elinor Utech - November 21st. Have a happy birthday and all the good wishes and cheers that go along with it.

Minutes of the Missoula Iris Society Meeting, Saturday, October 2, 2004

The meeting was called to order by President Jim Sadler at 7:25 p.m. at the home of Honk Meyer.

Minutes - The minutes from the September meeting were approved with one correction on the treasurer's report. On page 2 of the newsletter, the treasurer's "total receipts from grab bag sales" should have said "total receipts from rhizome sale".

Treasurers Report -

Expenses paid from checking account were:

Zona Lindemann, Fort maintenance, 22.5 hrs $225.10

Marchie's Nursery, Fort supplies $135.18

Billie Gray, rhizome purchase for Fort $205.00

Big Sky Publications, newsletter $ 25.00

Check order $ 10.00

Total: $600.28

Transfer from savings to checking: $599.50. Checking Balance as of 9/30/04: $170.51

OLD BUSINESS

Fort Garden Report - Billie Gray left a report to be read by President Jim. A work party is being called for Tuesday, October 5th from 4:00 p.m. to dark. Jobs to be accomplished are

Move gravel onto beds for mulching, beds 1-4

Cut iris down for winter (TB's to 6-8")

Level off lawn paths between beds 2 & 3,and 3 & 4

Clean edging on other beds

Tools to bring include flat shovels if you have one, scissors/grass clippers, half moon edgers, weeders, shovels, wheelbarrows

Carol Addeo will have her daughter Sheri Wurth deliver pea gravel from JTL, to be delivered by Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.

There is a pile of dirt on a tarp by the road that's free to any members who want it

NEW BUSINESS

Nominating Committee - Elinor Utech presented the 2005 nominations for officers. Nominations are: Pete Addeo for president, Carol Addeo for secretary, Swede Gustafson for treasurer, with back-up treasurer-in-training to be Zona Lindemann. Pete Addeo has the assignment to choose a willing vice president. Elections will take place at the November meeting. Additional nominations may also be presented.

25th Anniversary Committee - Jim Sadler reported that he and Ann Violette had a luncheon planning meeting; the 25th celebration will be centered around the annual show and tour if we have one.

Iris Show - Show date will be scheduled for second Saturday in June, June 11, 2005. Jim will contact Southgate Mall to reserve the date.

Iris Sale - Claudia Brown will reserve the last Saturday of July, with the Fort Museum.

Iris Tour - Claudia Brown will reserve the third Saturday in June, June 18th at the Fort Grounds. Carol Addeo said she and Billie Gray would contact Earth and Wood about a possible co-sponsoring of a "Pond and Iris Tour". The event would be a self-driving tour and would be a fee charged tour instead of free as in the past. The idea is to earn money to support the Fort Gardens, instead of spending it.

Jim reported that in the past, his affiliate garden clubs co-sponsored with Caras Nursery and netted up to $2,000 after expenses. We would want to advertise locations where tickets are sold, utilize as much advertising as possible, especially free spots on t.v. He recommended about 7 gardens, not necessarily limited to iris club members.

Christmas Party - Elinor reported that Rose Mary and Ken Baier would welcome us to their home for the annual Christmas party, planned for the first Sunday in December, December 5th. A Christmas Party Committee of Elinor Utech, Betty Ann Gustafson and Carol Addeo will be in charge of providing turkey, set up and clean up for the party. It was suggested that the party start earlier, such as 2:00 p.m on Sunday, with dinner at 3:00 or 4:00 to allow members to get home earlier. The gift exchange was explained to new members.

Honorary Members - Jim suggested that we make Rose Mary and Ken Baier honorary members, because of their status as long time members and their many contributions to the iris society. A motion was made by Claudia Brown that we make Rose Mary and Ken Baier honorary members without payment of annual dues; seconded by Honk Meyer and passed. The secretary will write a letter to them informing them of the club's decision and asking about the earlier time for the party.

Budget Meeting - A board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday October 20th at 3:30 p.m. at the home of Jim Sadler for the purpose of setting the 2005 budget. Budget requests from any members, especially chairpersons, should be given to Swede within the next two weeks. Elinor will call members not present to remind them of the board meeting and the fort work party.

Presidential Rhizome - Jim Sadler won the rhizome for October, 2004.

The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Carol Addeo, Secretary

MISSOULA IRIS SOCIETY BOARD MEETING - October 20, 2004

The Missoula Iris Society Board meeting was called to order at 3:30 p.m. by President Jim Sadler at his home. Also present was Carol Addeo, Secretary, Swede Gustafson, Treasurer and Billie Gray, Fort Chairperson. Vice President Ann Violette was in touch via telephone.

Event Dates for 2005 - Jim reported that the second Saturday of June has been confirmed with Southgate Mall for the show. Carol reported that Claudia has reserved the dates for the tour and the sale with the Fort Missoula Museum. The dates are as follows:

Show Saturday, June 11th 2nd Saturday of June

Tour Saturday, June 18th 3rd Saturday of June

Sale Saturday, July 30th Last Saturday of July

Vice President Nomination - Jim Sadler has offered to accept the nomination of Vice President for 2005. After some discussion, it was decided that he should continue to chair the 25th Anniversary committee, and delegate the chairmanship of the 2005 Show to another member.

25th Anniversary of Fort Gardens - After some discussion, it was decided to schedule a committee meeting next Tuesday, October 26, 2004 at the home of Pete and Carol Addeo to plan the anniversary celebration events for next year. Carol will call members who might be interested in participating in this first "idea" session.

It was agreed that we need to send invitations to national officers and judges now, and that informational articles need to be inserted into the AIS bulletin for January and April 2005. Carol and Ann will handle that. Ann notified us that the national convention is May 9th through 14th, 2005 in St. Louis, MO.

Savings account reporting - It was agreed that the balance in the savings account would be reported in the newsletter only once or twice a year, due to the danger of internet fraud/theft when exposure is on the web or by e -mail. Discussion of items held in the savings account: Storage facility funds in the event we build a storage facility, grant money of $350 for the Fort Gardens, memorial funds for Bob Gray of $190, other memorial funds of $60, and $310 in the judges fund. The funds are " back up funds" in the event we had a very unprofitable year, or in the event the fort gardens ever had to be dismantled and removed. President Jim suggested the treasurer purchase a permanent bound ledger book to keep track of special funds, such as memorial funds, since he is the only one who knows what items are held for what.

Community Foundation Grant - The $350 grant which Chris Ritchart applied for and obtained for the Fort Gardens will be used to pay outstanding bills for sod and will help cover the purchase of new rhizomes, edging and soil. A final report and thank you letter will be sent to The Missoula Community Foundation Grant by the secretary as soon as the treasurer gets the information to her. It was agreed that we should apply for those grant funds again next year.

Memorial Funds - Discussion of purchasing a very durable bench, perhaps cement, for the Fort Gardens with the memorial funds in savings for Bob Gray. This will be discussed further by the 25th Anniversary committee at their next meeting with the idea of making the dedication part of the anniversary celebration next year. Billie commented that Bob would have liked the idea of a bench near his favorite tree.

Check signatures - It was decided that authorized check signers would remain the treasurer and president only. The apprentice or vice treasurer Zona Lindemann would be authorized to sign checks when she becomes a full treasurer.

2005 Budget - Treasurer Swede notified the board of the current amount available for the 2005 budget based on the following information:

Budget Value $4,677.04

Income credits to budget $ 207.72

Net budget $4,884.76

Total expenditures to date $-2,958.64

Balance as of 10/22/04 $1,926.12

Last year the budget was $4,677; but we actually spent $2,674, which left a balance of $2,003.

Discussion followed regarding the following budget items:

Annual Dues - Anticipated annual dues is $378. It was decided to increase the annual dues by $1.00 per year, from $7 per person to $8 per person. This amounts to a monthly cost to members of 66 cents which barely covers the cost to mail the newsletter and annual membership list. This will be presented to the membership at the November meeting for a vote. The club started in 1945, but dues remained static for many years. It was agreed that the dues need to be increased to cover our increased expenses.

Fort Gardens - It was decided to reduce the planned renovation work this year in order to reduce the budget somewhat for the Fort from $2,600 to $2000. Therefore, renovations will be done on the Dykes beds only in 2005 and beds 5 and 6 will be postponed until 2006.

Show - This year a national judge will be brought in, so the show budget should allow for that.

Sale - Last year the sale overspent by $113, due to the late ordering of tie labels. This year, the sale chairperson should order those ties in January or February 2005 to avoid the overnight shipping charges. We also need more publicity/advertising for the sale.

Budget for 2005 based on October 22, 2004 values

Anticipated Savings balance as of 12/31/04: $1,870.00

2004 Rhizome Sale Deposit $2,847.00

Projected membership dues receipts $ 378.00

Projected Checking balance on 12/31/04 $ 236.00

Approx cash on hand 12/31/04 $5,331.00

2005 Projected Budget Expense

Show $ 200

Sale $ 500

Tour/25th Celebration $1,300

Fort Garden Care/Renovation $2,000

Education/Newsletter $ 450.

General Club Operation $ 681.

2005 Total Projected Budget $5,331.

The board meeting adjourned at 5:30, but members remained another 30 minutes to discuss ideas for the Fort Gardens 25th Anniversary promotion.

Respectfully Submitted

Carol Addeo, Secretary

The following letter was sent to the Missoula Community Foundation

October 29, 2004

Mike McInally

Missoula Community Foundation

P O Box 8029

Missoula, MT 59807

Dear Mr. McInally:

On behalf of the Missoula Iris Society, I'm delighted to thank you and your Missoula Community Foundation for the grant award of $350.00 for our Iris Display Garden at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. We completed our final work parties on Tuesday, October 5 and again on Saturday, October 16. About seven of our members plus family members and grandchildren turned out to help put the beds to bed for the winter.

As you may know, our public iris display garden was created from a field of rock and weeds behind the historical museum by 11 iris society members back in 1981. Today our gardens are an important part of the community and of our club, not only showing the evolution of iris since 1929, but creating a beautiful backdrop for many weddings that take place there every summer. We are so proud of our accomplishments and our history, that we plan to create a series of 25th Anniversary celebrations in 2005, beginning with our annual show on June 11, 2005, including a fund raising tour on June 18th and concluding with our annual rhizome sale on July 30th. We truly thank you for your foundation help to achieve some of the renovations our garden desperately needed, because like any garden that needs nurturing, ours needed to be renovated, replaced and re-planted. Much was accomplished this year, but we have much more to do again next year and the year after. We have set a four year plan to renovate several beds each season.

Some of the improvements we have accomplished are:

A new concrete block wall along part of the east side of the Siberian Iris Garden. It will be completed next spring; Digging up three whole beds, re-aligning them and replacing edging, and re-planting. Renovation of the soil in four of the radial gardens; We ordered and planted 107 newly introduced bearded iris. We actually ordered and paid for 96 iris; the grower donated an additional 11 more. We removed the existing lawn in several areas and when our work was completed, we planted new sod to level the walkways between these beds; We expanded the Siberian bed in anticipation of its renovation in two years; We replanted numerous perennials, which sat patiently in pots for many weeks waiting for us to finish the renovation work; We are still in the labeling process, which we hope to complete in the next few days.

The expenses which your $350 grant helped cover were:

Concrete block wall $125.00

New iris plants $205.00

New sod $200.00

All of the work is accomplished by our members. We receive no help from any other agencies or groups, though sometimes we could sure use it. JTL Construction did donate pea gravel for mulch to our cause in 2003 and 2004, and we sincerely appreciated that help. Otherwise, we purchase our materials from the revenue generated from our rhizome sale, which also supports our other annual activities and education.

Just to give you an idea how many volunteer work hours our members spend on this garden, I am proud to report that in April four members donated 15 hours, in May seven members donated 42 hours, in June thirteen members donated 65 hours and in July eleven members donated 100 hours. We are justly proud of the contribution our members make to help educate and beautify the Garden City of Missoula and Fort Missoula in particular.

We would appreciate an opportunity to apply for a grant again in 2005, as our renovation project is ongoing for at least the next four years and of course after that we have ongoing expenses each year to maintain the gardens. If there is an application, you may mail or e-mail to carolyn@montana.com

Thanks again for the Missoula Community Foundation grant.

Sincerely,

Carolyn Addeo

Secretary the Missoula Iris Society